SOUTHPORT, England (Reuters) – The parents of one of three girls murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed event in northern England last month called for an end to the nationwide rioting that followed their deaths at an emotional funeral for their young daughter.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, and two other girls died and eight were injured after being stabbed in an attack at the event at the seaside town of Southport two weeks ago.
Days of riots followed in Southport and in towns and cities across the United Kingdom, triggered by false online posts wrongly identifying the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant. A teenager, born in Britain, has since been charged and police say the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
At Aguiar’s funeral, the area’s police chief told the congregation that her grieving Portuguese parents, Sergio and Alexandra, had asked her to deliver a public appeal for calm.
“You have shown great courage in asking me to be here today … to give a message from you, Alice’s family, to say that you do not want there to be any more violence on the streets of the United Kingdom in the name of your daughter,” Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said.
“I am ashamed, and I’m so sorry that you had to even consider this in the planning of the funeral of your beautiful daughter Alice.
“And I hope that anyone who has taken part in the violent disorder on our streets over the past 13 days, is hanging their heads in shame at the pain that they have caused you, a grieving family.”
More than 900 people have been arrested and 466 charged with offences over the disorder, mainly targeted at migrants and Muslims, with dozens already sentenced and jailed as cases are fast-tracked through the courts.
Police and politicians believe the speedy, tough response from the authorities combined with thousands attending counter-protests since Wednesday have deterred people from taking part in further protests, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced as “far-right thuggery”.
Starmer has cancelled holiday plans to deal with the response, and many more arrests and charges are expected over the coming months, prosecutors said. Justice minister Shabana Mahmood said the impact on the already stretched judicial system would be felt for years to come.
ANSWERS
At Aguiar’s highly emotional funeral, her white coffin covered in pink flowers was brought to the church in a white horse-drawn carriage as hundreds of applauding locals lined the streets.
“You were taken away from us too soon, and we often ask why? Why here? Why us? Why you?” her parents said in a tribute read out by the girl’s uncle at the service.
“We will never get over this pain, but we promise to get all the answers. Mummy has seen too much, and we need to know. We feel shocked, unimaginable pain. We miss you … For now our beloved angel, keep dancing. Mommy and daddy will always, always love you.”
Two other girls, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, were also killed, and Bebe’s parents issued a statement on Saturday saying her death had shattered their world. They revealed her older sister Genie had witnessed the attack and managed to escape.
Politicians and police have blamed online disinformation for fuelling the violence that followed, and education secretary Bridget Phillipson said schoolchildren would now be taught how to spot fake news and “putrid conspiracy theories awash on social media”.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he had written to the Association of British Insurers to ensure that payouts to shops damaged by rioting were made swiftly.
(Writing by Michael Holden; editing by Giles Elgood)
